Starting a new book always feels a little weird to me. There’s so much to hash out, so much to think about, and I’m often torn between plotting and just writing. I spent a week-and-change plotting and jotting down ideas for the novella I’m working on, and starting tomorrow, I’m going to be back on a pretty strict schedule until I finish. I’m excited to get back into the (writing) swing of things, even though it’s only been just over a week since I was in full-on writing mode. So, yay!

In life-news, I recently re-watched the 1996 Kate Beckinsale version of Emma, which I like fairly well. I don’t often have time to watch TV or movies or really anything, since I have a pretty full schedule, but when I do get a few free moments, I typically go for what Mr. B affectionately refers to as “wigmen” shows, since many of the characters wear wigs. Anyway, I like this version of Emma because Mark Strong is so severe as Mr. Knightley, and the age difference is pretty believable. I felt that difference less in the 2009 Romola Garai version, with Jonny Lee Miller (she was great and I liked his acting, but I felt he wasn’t forbidding enough). At any rate, I actually like Kate Beckinsale as an actress, and I thought this version was rich and credible. I like both versions much better than Gwyneth Paltrow’s 1996 version. They’re a little less glossy, but that adds to their charm. For those of who who’ve seen these movies, feel free to weigh in? Which do you like, and why? And for those of you who don’t watch “wigmen” stuff, what other movies do you compare/contrast?

And for this week’s giveaway, and sort of in keeping with the theme, I have two books (not versions) in one: Midnight Special by Tawny Weber, which also contains Coming on Strong. Leave a comment, and one winner will be chosen at random. U.S. only, please. Contest ends Thursday, March 13th at 9pm Pacific.

So Blaze of Winter is still on sale for 99 cents (grab it while it’s hot), and I have news. Last week, I told you I really, really, really wanted to get that Connecticut contemporary manuscript finished, to the point of saying it will happen. Guess what? It did.

Aw yeah.

I finished it up early–Wednesday!–and promptly sent it to my awesome agent to see what she thinks. Fingers crossed she loves it as much as I do.

I spent the latter part of the week brainstorming for my next book, and writing down everything I could think of to make this book gel, but it just . . . wasn’t. I had the heroine (Mandy, from Christmas in Tahoe), but nothing else. It was making me nuts, until I kind of wrote off Friday and just dealt with life and the kids and other stuff.

Then, when Mr. B and I were talking about the (failed) brainstorming, he inadvertently gave me a gem of an idea that I think might *just* be the hook for this book. He didn’t even realize he’d done it until I started jumping around and raced for my laptop. We’ll see how it develops. I’m having dinner on Wednesday with two of my best pals, who are fabulous sounding boards for this kind of stuff, and if it passes their tests, we’re a go!

So this week’s giveaway question deals exactly with what I experienced this weekend: Have you ever had someone say something in passing that gave you an awesome idea? Drop a comment below and I’ll send you a paperback copy of Sabrina Jeffries’s What the Duke Desires . . . ’cause it’s still winter and it’s fun to curl up with a great historical when it’s freezing outside! U.S. only, please. Contest ends Thursday, March 6th at 9pm Pacific.

Hey, all. Long time no blog. I’ve been crazy life-busy over the last two weeks, with work, spring break for my oldest, visits from relatives, and doing a lot of solo parenting (Mr. B has had a lot of work lately). This weekend I was supermom. Seriously. Super. Mom. Here’s a partial list of what the kids and I did:

It’s tough making all three of the kids happy, but I did my best. And I really wore them out. On both days I had them solo, they fell asleep as soon as their little heads touched their clean pillowcases (I also did 7 loads of laundry. And made homemade meatballs.). Mmm . . . I keep saying supermom, but really I should just say crazy.

Unsurprisingly, the kids aren’t the only ones who are worn out, but mama can’t take a break because I need to edit the first book in my Connecticut contemporary series, which needs some tweaking before it goes to my agent. This tweaking will happen this week since all three kids are in school and I only have one relative visiting. See what I did there? I put it in bold so it will happen. There. I did it again.

I’ll check in with you next Monday to let you know how it all turns out.

I’m really anxious to finish up this book, not just because people are waiting for it, but because there are other things I am chomping at the bit to write, and I want to get this off my desk before I start on something new. I wonder, do most people work on lots of different projects at once, or do they work on one at a time? In life, I juggle many things and don’t mind working on tons at once, but with writing, I like just one project. Strange, huh?

Anyhow, a giveaway is in order. This week, it’s a signed copy of Rachel Gibson’s Rescue Me. Let me know what will happen for you this week in the comments and you’ll be entered to win. It’s a paperback, so US only, please. Contest ends Thursday, February 27, at 9pm Pacific.

Also, Blaze of Winter, featuring the fabulous Theo Grayson, is on sale for two weeks for 99 cents. Please pass the word along!!

Today, I am super excited to announce that you can now have a Grayson brother for every season in one package! That’s right! Seb, Theo, Cole and Val are all in one four-book bundle, because the Star Harbor Four-Book Bundle set, including Deep Autumn Heat, Blaze of Winter, Long Simmering Spring, and Slow Summer Burn is officially on sale as of today! It’s selling for $8.99 (a steal, given that each book alone is typically $2.99), but you can get it at Google Play and Amazon for even cheaper at $7.69 (an even bigger steal!). This is the perfect chance for you to introduce your friends to the Graysons of Star Harbor!

We’re doing something a little different today. Typically, Monday giveaways run until Thursday evening, but this giveaway is only 12 hours long! In honor of the fact that Long Simmering Spring is still on sale for 99 cents, I’m going to give away three digital copies of the book! Like I said, the contest ends today, so sign up for my newsletter here and be quick with your comments because it will wrap up tonight at 9pm and books will be sent immediately. Please use the email you want the book sent to (won’t be made public) and your reader of choice (will be made public). International entries okay, since it’s all digital!

Things at the Barrett house have been crazy, what with work, writing, kids, school projects, my own projects, birthdays, anniversaries, and oh, yes, the release of Blaze of Winter (yay!). It is not a coincidence that today I’m at Romance @ Random with a post entitled De-Stressing in Autumn. In it, I lay out five steps I’m going to take to help me relax. They are:

(1) Set aside some serious reading time.

(2) Take a walk outside in the crisp, fall air.

(3) Bake something autumnal.

(4) Listen to my favorite fall music.

(5) Try not to get wrapped up in the little things.

I think these are good first steps, and I want to start on them immediately because goodness knows things aren’t going to get less stressful as we head into holiday season. In fact, I already began by baking pumpkin bread and banana raisin muffins (which admittedly aren’t the most autumnal, but certainly do smell good). I’d love it if you stopped by here or at R@R to give me your best tips on how to relax!

On the writing front, things are going well, but never as quickly as I would like. I’m about halfway through Slow Summer Burn (Star Harbor #4), and I just got edits back for Long Simmering Spring (Star Harbor #3).I’d like to have everything done by the end of 2012, which is extremely ambitious with my work/family schedule. We shall see how things play out.To make everyone (including myself) a little less stressed out, I’m doing another giveaway! Hooray, a giveaway! (See, I’m less stressed already!) I have tons more book goodies from RWA and one copy of Robyn Carr’s Sunrise Point that went unclaimed during my last giveaway. I’ll give two winners a couple of books each from my awesome romance stash.

Rules:

(1) Winner must be a member of my mailing list. Please sign up for my mailing list here.

Though I live about thirty-five minutes from San Francisco, I actually don’t get into the city all that often. My weekday schedule is kind of insane, and the last thing I want to do on the weekends is drive up to the city, three kids and husband in tow, to go do something far away when there’s plenty of parks, playdates, and pools with walking distance.

But last Friday, I was in the city not once, but twice on the same day–first to see the Cindy Sherman exhibit at SF MoMA (it was mesmerizing), and then to attend a farewell dinner for one of my good friends who’s moving away to take a position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I considered it a huge treat because I’d had a really productive week, which culminated in me turning in my completed mansuscript for Long Simmering Spring, Star Harbor #3 (Cole’s story).

Now SF MoMA is in SoMA, the south of Market area that, at this point, consists of tech startups, museums, warehouses and hip restaurants. But dinner was at the center of one of the coolest parts of the city–the Mission. Now, at this time of year, the Mission becomes famous for hosting a very popular Halloween street party (much like its next-door neighborhood, the Castro). And it just happens to be where Theo Grayson, hero of Blaze Of Winter, is living before he returns to Star Harbor.

Inspired by both my city trip and the Halloween holiday, I wrote a scene from Theo’s point of view that takes place about a month before the beginning of Blaze Of Winter, in the time-frame of Deep Autumn Heat.

Theo Grayson finished his set of crunches and stood up. His large loft seemed emptier than usual, despite the loud laughter and cheering coming from the open window. He walked over to the window overlooking 21st Street. Arms on the sill, he leaned out. Two stories below was a mass of humanity.

The sidewalks were jam-packed with bodies, and people were beginning to spill out onto the street. It was the same story all the way down to Valencia. Halloween in the Mission was one of the great perks of living in San Francisco. Just one of the many things he’d miss if he were back in Star Harbor.

Though he wouldn’t miss the weather. It was chilly—about fifty-five degrees—but scantily-clad beauties were out in full force. One woman walked by in a glittery push-up bra and some skimpy shorts—a sight he’d never see in Star Harbor this time of year.

“Come on down, honey,” someone yelled. “We want to see the rest of you.” When he saw a buff guy waving madly, Theo realized he was the object of the man’s attention. Some women joined in the fun, hooting and hollering. Theo had forgotten that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Realizing the way he must look—a big guy with a bare chest…and maybe nothing on underneath—he simply smiled down at the throngs, shook his head, and shut the window.

He gave a heavy sigh. His brother Cole was right—Theo needed to get out of town, return to his roots, and get started on his latest novel. He wasn’t making any progress by staying in SF. He’d hit a brick wall, and none of his usual tricks to jumpstart his writing were working.

Even tonight—on Halloween of all nights—he’d chosen to skip a friend’s party because he had a glimmer of an idea for his book. But when he’d sat down to write, the idea had disappeared. He’d been at it for hours before he’d given up and decided to work out. His Jack Sparrow costume hung in his closet, unworn. He’d thought he was so clever—the author of swashbuckling adventure stories dressing as a pirate for Halloween. He’d hoped the costume would provide him with some writing inspiration. Instead, it had just made him depressed that he hadn’t written a sentence. He couldn’t bear to put it on.

Pathetic.

He had thought he was wasting his time in SF. Now, he was certain. He needed to return to Massachusetts. To the crisp autumn air and the gorgeous fall foliage, the briny waters of the Cape and the smell of wood-burning fires. God, he missed it, no more so than when he was alone and feeling sorry for himself. This was the kick in the pants he needed to get back in the right mindset. And now he needed a game plan to get out of SF and back to Star Harbor.

First things first. He’d map out a timeline for his departure, arrange to rent out his apartment, book his flights…the list quickly grew exponentially.

He glanced over at the costume in his closet. Forget about pretend pirates. Soon, he’d be face-to-face with the real thing.

Let me know what you think of my bonus material and I’ll see what I can dig up for the release of Long Simmering Spring this coming May! I have a few deleted scenes you might enjoy…..

Also, I’m happy to be doing another giveaway! I have two copies of Robyn Carr’s excellent Sunrise Point that I’m giving away to two random commenters. Just leave a comment below letting me know about a time when you thought about making a change. U.S. entries only, please, since I’ll be shipping books. Also, winners must be members of my mailing list (sign up here). Contest ends October 6 at 9pm Pacific time.

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The love for Star Harbor is still going strong! The second book, Blaze Of Winter (featuring Theo and Avery) released on September 10th, and since then I’ve been busy visiting lots of sites on my blog tour. Two weeks out, and there’s more!

And if you’re in the California Bay Area, on October 3rd, I will be signing paper copies of Blaze Of Winter at Barnes and Noble at the Pruneyard in Campbell. Check out my appearances page for more details!

I’ve really been enjoying hearing what everyone has had to say about Blaze Of Winter, so please, keep the comments coming!